Teaching Activity 2: Rhetorical Devices: Ethos, Pathos, and Logos

Rhetorical Devices: Ethos, Pathos, and Logos

This lesson is the introduction of ethos, pathos, and logos.

Learning Objectives

• Define and understand the rhetorical devices: ethos, pathos, and logos
• Appropriately use ethos, pathos, and logos

Essential Question/Prior Knowledge

• “Have you ever noticed that some speeches, ads, and/or other text/media are more appealing than others?” Ask the students, “Why is this?”

Opening Activity

• Watch an Old Spice Commercial:

• “Within this presentation, you will find parts that are convincing by the character’s credibility, appealing to the listener’s emotions, and persuading by clear reason. This is ethos, pathos, and logos.”

Lesson Beginning

• Go over power point (text from unknown source): (link to the PowerPoint) Ethos, Pathos, and Logos

Slides from PowerPoint:

Slide 1: Ethos, Pathos, and Logos

Our learning targets/objectives…

1) Define and understand the rhetorical devices: ethos, pathos, and logos

2) Appropriately use ethos, pathos, and logos in a speech similar to that in the Old Spice Commercial

Slide 2: Ethos (Ethical Appeal)…

• Means convincing by the character/credibility of the author – The writer/speaker’s reputation or expertise in the field
• Making yourself someone who is likable and worthy of respect… (Because we tend to believe people whom we respect)
• Example:

“I will end this war in Iraq responsibly, and finish the fight against al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan. I will build new partnerships to defeat the threats of the 21st century: terrorism and nuclear proliferation; poverty and genocide; climate change and disease. And I will restore our moral standing, so that America is once again that last, best hope for all who are called to the cause of freedom, who long for lives of peace, and who yearn for a better future.” — Democratic Presidential Candidate Acceptance Speech by Barack Obama (Aug 2008)

Slide 3: Pathos (Emotional)…

• Persuading by appealing to the reader’s emotions, sympathies, and imagination
• Example:

“I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. And some of you have come from areas where your quest — quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering…. Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed.” – “I Have a Dream” by Martin Luther King Jr. (August 28th, 1963)

Slide 4: Logos (Logical)…

• Persuading by the use of clear reasoning
• Involves facts, statistics, and other supporting evidence
• Example:

“Two major studies from military intelligence experts have warned our leaders about the dangerous national security implications of the climate crisis, including the possibility of hundreds of millions of climate refugees destabilizing nations around the world. Just two days ago, 27 senior statesmen and retired military leaders warned of the national security threat from an “energy tsunami” that would be triggered by a loss of our access to foreign oil. Meanwhile, the war in Iraq continues, and now the war in Afghanistan appears to be getting worse.” — Al Gore “A Generational Challenge to Repower America” July 17th 2008

Class Discussion

• As a group, identify ethos, pathos, and logos found in the Old Spice Commercial.

Culminating Activity

• Individually, have students to select an ad among a mix of magazines. Then have the students identify which rhetorical device or devices are used in the ad.

Assessment

• For an assignment, the students are to pick a commercial and identify ethos, pathos, and/or logos used. They are to write a 400-word paper.